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Under the auspices and with the active participation of the Athena Research Center, the AI Forum 2025 took place on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, at the Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Center. The event was organized by AI Catalyst and ethosEVENTS, under the auspices of the Ministry of Digital Governance. The conference aimed to bring together the research and scientific community, public administration, and the market, creating a vibrant forum for dialogue on the strategy, opportunities, and challenges emerging from the rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence.

 

As part of the conference proceedings, Professor Ioannis Emiris, Chairman of the Board and General Director of the Athena Research Center (2021–2025), participated in the panel titled “Defining the Greek AI roadmap: Strategy, opportunities and challenges”, held in the main hall “Antigoni”. The discussion was moderated by Myron Flouris, member of the Steering Committee and Senior Innovation Officer at AI Catalyst, and featured Dr. Tasos Gaitanis, Secretary General for Research and Innovation; Dr. Vangelis Karkaletsis, President of NCSR “Demokritos”; and Dr. Evangelos Bekiaris, President of CERTH.

 

The discussion focused on shaping the national roadmap for Artificial Intelligence, the importance of high-quality data, and the need to connect research knowledge with productive processes.

Prof. Emiris referred to the role of Greek research centers as driving forces for technology transfer and innovation enhancement, citing successful examples and collaborations with industry and international partners. He highlighted that the Athena Research Center leads the linguistic component of the national AI pillar “Pharos” and possesses a strong research background through its “Archimedes” unit, which focuses on algorithm development and utilization. He further emphasized that the successful adoption of AI applications in Greece requires solid scientific foundations, the availability and use of quality data, and close cooperation with businesses, so that research translates into real economic and social value. Watch the interview given by Mr. Emiris as part of the AI Forum here.

 

At the same time, Dr. Vassilis Katsouros, Director of the Institute for Language and Speech Processing of Athena, participated in the conference’s Satellite Presentations, within the session titled “European Digital Governance Innovation Hub". The session, moderated by Giannis Kotsis-Giannarakis, focused on the use of AI in public administration and the development of innovative infrastructures and mechanisms to support digital transformation at both central and local levels.

 

Dr. Katsouros spoke about Athena’s participation in key national and European initiatives concerning the development of large language models for Greek, the creation of a unified European linguistic data space, the formulation of a common European strategy on language technologies, as well as Pharos, the Greek AI Factory. He also referred to Athena’s parallel investment in computing infrastructures and talent development through the training of young scientists in cutting-edge AI technologies. Finally, he noted Athena’s collaborations with companies and public organizations for the development of pilot AI applications that improve citizen services and accelerate the country’s digital transition.